Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Beans

Toddlers are notoriously picky, flip-floppers. One day apples are their favorite food, two days later, they hate apples with such passion. Sure, each kid has his or her individual go-tos that never fail, but those foods don't always cover the full nutritional spectrum.

My mom made a really yummy mashed sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving. I am not too fond of sweet potatoes, and I even ate some of this casserole. I think the difference was the vanilla. I don't know. Bottom line, the little boy went bonkers over it. It was from Cooking Light, so it was relatively healthy, but I wanted to up the ante.

Bean goes back and forth on...beans. Heh. He generally likes them, regardless of type, but he has to be in the right mood for them. I don't cook a lot of meat, so I have to try to squeeze protein in where I can. Enter beans.

I decided to make a sweet potato and bean mash up. All I used were sweet potatoes, cannellini beans, brown sugar, and vanilla. You could easily substitute whatever beans you have on hand. I like cannellini because they are a milder, sweeter bean. You could also sub maple syrup or honey in place of the brown sugar. Next time, I think I will try some blackstrap molasses. It's got some good vitamins and minerals in it. I also might add a splash of milk for creaminess since he seemed to like that.

1 lb sweet potatoes
1 can (1 1/2 c) beans, rinsed and drained
2 T brown sugar (or to taste)
1 t vanilla (or to taste)

Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them up into equal sizes. Boil them until fork tender. Once they are done, drain the water and return them to the pot. Add your beans, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mash to desired consistency, but make sure it is well mixed. Serve them warm!

 

Give 'em to your kiddo to enjoy. My husband likes them, too. This makes 2-3 cups worth, so stick the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate. You can try to freeze them, but potatoes can get wonky when thawed. It is super easy to make. I even plan on throwing a spoonful into Bean's lunchtime smoothie. They are sweet enough, but you can put pretty much anything in a smoothie if you add a banana. Actually that reminds me...I don't ever hide things in his food. Whatever it is, I tell him that it's in there. I don't want to deceive him when it comes to food. I want him to see that food can be made in lots of different ways, so he's bond to like one of them.